US & Morocco K-1

[NancyS 0]

Hi everyone, I'm wondering if there are some successful K-1 stories between US and Morocco? We hired an attorney and hope that will be better than filing for it ourselves. I have seen people say to get married first, but we decided to go this route. Any thoughts and stories are appreciated 💞

[EandH0904 1,184]

Although the approval rate is higher now than it was maybe 6 months ago, it's still not high for K1. Your best chance would have been with a lot of time spent together so I hope you did that first.

Lawyers don't contribute anything to your case and often you will see on VJ that lawyers made it more complicated.  There are 196 countries and 395 Visa categories so unless your lawyer specializes in Morocco K1s they may not be aware of some of the cultural norms the consulate looks for. 

 

But welcome and ask questions and just be prepared for the long wait 

[NancyS 0]

Thank you for your reply. We had heard that an attorney would be very helpful, so too late if not. I was there in December and going again in March and probably June. The papers will most likely not be filed until after the March trip. The waiting is difficult, just hoping for an approval and it will be well worth it!

[RJandHamid 1,133]

My Moroccan husband was approved for a K1 visa in July 2017. Happy to answer any questions you have. We did not use an attorney, I organized and filed all of the paperwork myself. 

[NancyS 0]

Thank you so much! I may take you up on that.  I give you credit on doing it yourself. It's a ton of work. So happy for you. I need to see positive approval stories🙌🏼 

[Kowatti 189]

2 hours ago, NancyS said:

Thank you for your reply. We had heard that an attorney would be very helpful, so too late if not. I was there in December and going again in March and probably June. The papers will most likely not be filed until after the March trip. The waiting is difficult, just hoping for an approval and it will be well worth it!

 

Several countries in Africa are considered high fraud & I can understand your concern.  Like others have said, sometimes you can do a better job filing yourself.  Most if not all the info you need can be found right here on various forums.  Also, there are a lot of VJ members who can assisst you throughout the process.  I didn't know anything about the K-1 or what I am supposed to do.  I still ask questions when needed.  My fiance comes from high fraud country & we were approved by USCIS.  Fiance is now waiting for his interview.  Some who hired attorneys to do their paperwork ended up with RFE's.  We just want to reasure you that you can handle it yourself, if you want to keep your money & not have to pay to get it done.  My best wishes for your journey.   

Edited February 25, 2019 by PandT

[NancyS 0]

I really appreciate it but he's been retained and they are working on already. He has a high percentage of approvals so we're hopeful.  I don't know what an RFE is, but i'll look it up.  Like I said, we had heard the opposite and that an attorney was a good idea, so that's what we did. I appreciate the information. Thank you:)

[NancyS 0]

1 hour ago, PandT said:

Several countries in Africa are considered high fraud & I can understand your concern.  Like others have said, sometimes you can do a better job filing yourself.  Most if not all the info you need can be found right here on various forums.  Also, there are a lot of VJ members who can assisst you throughout the process.  I didn't know anything about the K-1 or what I am supposed to do.  I still ask questions when needed.  My fiance comes from high fraud country & we were approved by USCIS.  Fiance is now waiting for his interview.  Some who hired attorneys to do their paperwork ended up with RFE's.  We just want to reasure you that you can handle it yourself, if you want to keep your money & not have to pay to get it done.  My best wishes for your journey.   

I looked up RFE and we have a lot of evidence, so I think we're OK. The attorney's office says they see no reason for us to be turned down by USCIS. I think it will just be the interview process and then hopefully good news!

[Ate 180]

2 hours ago, NancyS said:

I looked up RFE and we have a lot of evidence, so I think we're OK. The attorney's office says they see no reason for us to be turned down by USCIS. I think it will just be the interview process and then hopefully good news!

 

Note that USCIS does not approve K1 visas.  USCIS only approves the petition so your fiance can apply for a visa from the consulate in Casablanca.  I hope your lawyer is very familiar with what Casablanca wants to see for K1 visa approval.

 

Good luck on your visa journey!

 

[geowrian 22,337]

An RFE is issued at the USCIS stage. They will not issue an RFE for relationship evidence as that is not a requirement for the I-129F. I concur that there shouldn't be an issue with the petition being turned down by USCIS so long as you provided the required information.

 

That said, the embassy may consider it. And that's the hard part of the process, especially with Casa.

[carmel34 3,639]

Attorneys are a waste of money if you have a normal situation, with no previous visa denials, deportations, criminal record, waivers, etc.  All they do is hire low-paid clerks to do their work and often mistakes are made, there are delays, documents not submitted, etc.  Lots of horror stories here on VJ about this.  They take your money and then ask you to gather all the documents necessary, send them all the information needed to fill out the forms, so why not just do it yourself??  It's never too late to fire an attorney and stop sending them money that you could use for other things.  Attorneys have nothing to do with the speed of the process, in fact, they often slow it down because your case is one of hundreds they have to get to.  It's like adding another layer of bureaucracy and delays to an already very long process.  The only time it makes sense to hire an attorney are if you have legal issues to deal with that are complicated and involve immigration judges and appeals and the like, most likely not your situation.  If you end up getting denied because Morocco is a high-fraud country, and you end up going the spousal visa route, definitely do not use an attorney unless you have money to burn and don't care about the chance for errors or delays.

[Kowatti 189]

8 hours ago, NancyS said:

I looked up RFE and we have a lot of evidence, so I think we're OK. The attorney's office says they see no reason for us to be turned down by USCIS. I think it will just be the interview process and then hopefully good news!

Sounds good.  Now here comes the waiting game, lol.  I hope you will have a speedy journey going through the process.

[NancyS 0]

5 hours ago, carmel34 said:

Attorneys are a waste of money if you have a normal situation, with no previous visa denials, deportations, criminal record, waivers, etc.  All they do is hire low-paid clerks to do their work and often mistakes are made, there are delays, documents not submitted, etc.  Lots of horror stories here on VJ about this.  They take your money and then ask you to gather all the documents necessary, send them all the information needed to fill out the forms, so why not just do it yourself??  It's never too late to fire an attorney and stop sending them money that you could use for other things.  Attorneys have nothing to do with the speed of the process, in fact, they often slow it down because your case is one of hundreds they have to get to.  It's like adding another layer of bureaucracy and delays to an already very long process.  The only time it makes sense to hire an attorney are if you have legal issues to deal with that are complicated and involve immigration judges and appeals and the like, most likely not your situation.  If you end up getting denied because Morocco is a high-fraud country, and you end up going the spousal visa route, definitely do not use an attorney unless you have money to burn and don't care about the chance for errors or delays.

Got it.  As I said it's already been done so I can't go back and worry about about it now. 👌🏼

[SalishSea 17,916]

8 hours ago, NancyS said:

Got it.  As I said it's already been done so I can't go back and worry about about it now. 👌🏼

Just be aware that attorneys cannot speed up the process or affect a decision either way.  Most 129F petitions are approved worldwide, as the criteria for qualifying are minimal (petitioner is USC, couple has met in person once in prior two years, both are free to marry each other and intend to do so within 90 days of beneficiary's arrival).

 

The much bigger issue for Casablanca and other high-fraud consulates is the actual K-1 (visa) approval.  Many here would recommend the CR-1 over K-1 for Casablanca.  I suggest you read as much as you can about the entire process.

[Hobidyali 267]

Hi, I am currently on the tail end of the K1 process and can tell you that a lawyer is a COMPLETE waste of time. If I were in your situation I would wait until the third trip to file the K1 as this is the best choice imo. 

Edited February 26, 2019 by Hobidyali